Twitter: The One-Night Stand of Social Media

If you’re anything like me, you may have experienced that rush of adrenaline after receiving your first DM or tweet from a pseudo-celebrity. As the story went, I sent a tweet about this individual and included their Twitter handle in those 140 characters. Soon after, they DM-ed me with a quippy response. I retorted with an arguably clever tweet. Then they…nothing. Alas, our Twitter relationship was over.

As a result, I have followed and subsequently unfollowed this person. Okay, I lied. I still follow them. But I’ll admit, I felt a little rejected after our Twitversation ended so abruptly. I really thought we had a good thing going! So after reading this article on Social Media Today, I got to thinking about how Twitter really is the one-night stand of the social media universe.

For one, where Facebook is more “like going to the local coffee shop with a bunch of friends,” Twitter is “like the local nightclub where you use your best lines to attract a following.” Personal Facebook status updates shared among friends are traded for snarky 140-character quips designed to attract as many followers as possible. It’s the bait-and-reel of the social media world. Where quantity trumps quality in terms of followers. People are willing to pull every sly maneuver in the book in order to gain followers.

According to author Andrew Hunt, there are 3 steps suggested to turn a Twitter one-night stand from “awkward” to “awesome:”

1) Avoid the Awkward Silence

Failure to engage with your followers will lead to follower regret. If you don’t offer any ‘after care’ service, they will feel that they have to do ‘the walk of shame’ and un-follow you. There is nothing fun about quietly letting yourself out of some strange place and having to creep home wearing the exact same clothes from the night before. So save yourself and your followers the “morning after regret” and engage your followers more often than once in a blue moon.

2) Show Some Level of Intelligence

In all seriousness, not being able to string a sentence together, and a least some normal friendly conversation, is instant cause for regret. Whether it’s in the bedroom or on Twitter, if you are awkward then they will be too.

3) Follow Up

There is nothing more frustrating than following someone new, and you tweet them a few times and they do not respond. You feel used and abused. Twitter is not about notches on your headboard; when your Twitter followers engage you, RESPOND!

Bottom line: getting loads of followers on Twitter is great and all, but if you do not engage them, you will be labeled a “Twitter ho” and lose followers (and respect). In the night club of the Social Meida world (Twitter), leave the cheesy one-liners at home and try to have meaningful conversations with people. You’ll be less likely to have a drink thrown in your face, or worse…be unfollowed.